Speak out against abortion, says Glasgow student

​Caitlin Keeper speaking against the motion at the SNP Youth Conference. Image: The Scottish Catholic Observer

The Scottish Catholic Observer reports that a Glasgow student has been praised for speaking out against abortion at an SNP Youth conference.

Caitlin Keeper, a third year veterinary biology student at Glasgow University, was the only person who spoke against a motion promoting abortion at the SNP Youth national conference at the end of October.

Despite Miss Keeper's efforts, the youth wing of the party voted overwhelmingly in support of "a woman's right to choose" and resolved "that the reproductive rights of women in Scotland, and their ability to access safe, legal and free abortion through the NHS, should not be undermined."

Miss Keeper said that though many young people think abortion is acceptable, "it has to be a conscience issue" and said she hoped the SNP and other parties would continue to allow a free vote on it.

"What would help, is if more people who are against it speak out," she said. "There is a stigma to speak up against it. It was really difficult for me. I feared I'd be judged afterwards but I felt a lot better for doing it."

Possible treatment for Zika in pregnancy proposed

US researchers have found that it may be possible to treat pregnant women and babies infected with the Zika virus.

Antibodies from people who have recovered from Zika were tested on mice. "The antibody reduces virus in the mother and also in the foetus, and it protects against placental and foetal damage," said Dr. James Crowe of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

"This is proof of principle that Zika virus during pregnancy is treatable, and we already have a human antibody that treats it, at least in mice," said Dr. Michael Diamond of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, co-author of the study published on Monday in the journal Nature.